Time-resolved measurements of energy transfer at surfaces

Abstract

Developments in time-resolved measurements of energy transfer at surfaces are reviewed. Picosecond and femtosecond measurements of vibrational and electronic relaxation at surfaces are highlighted. Experimental results for vibrational relaxation of simple adsorbates on metals, semiconductors, and insulators are reviewed, and relaxation mechanisms such as electron-hole pair formation, multiphonon relaxation and image dipole damping are considered. Energy transfer involving excited electronic states of molecules on liquid and solid dielectric surfaces and the relaxation of surface electronic states on semiconductors and of image states on metal surfaces are discussed.